Something more than gold: How US gymnasts earned silver

It can sound cliché to say the spirit of the Games is about more than winning gold. Not today. Simone Biles made history with her difficult decision to withdraw, as did her team with its staunch support of her.

After a skittish performance at qualifiers Sunday night, Simone Biles thought that when she finished competing that night, she would stop feeling judged.

She didn’t.

The global face of the Olympic Games, Ms. Biles continued to feel like the world was watching her even after she received her final score and left the arena. So the next day, she let the world know how that felt. 

“I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times,” the gymnast posted to 5 million followers on Instagram. “I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn, sometimes it’s hard.”

A night later, at Tuesday’s team all-around final, she decided that weight was too much to bear.

On her first apparatus, Ms. Biles ran down the mat intending to execute a 2.5 twist Amanar vault, but faltered midair and hastily landed, a twist short. Walking to her coaches, and then toward the training room, she decided she wasn’t in a place to compete.

Ms. Biles withdrew – and then did the same with Thursday’s individual all-around final, citing the need to protect her physical and mental health.